Nov. 4 ballot

Many Licking Heights residents to vote on 1-mill library levy

Licking County voters who live in the Licking Heights school district will vote on a 1-mill Licking County Library District renewal levy Nov. 4.

"We've been trying to encourage them to sign up for a library card," said library district director Babette Wofter.

She said the closest district branch to Licking Heights is Johnstown's Mary E. Babcock Library, but the library district also supports Licking Heights voters with a bookmobile and extensive online services.

The Pataskala Public Library is not in the Licking County Library District. It is funded by residents in the Southwest Licking school district.

"It is a challenging area to serve as families living in those areas seem to head to Franklin County for most all of their needs," Wofter said.

She said the bookmobile makes three stops twice per month in the Licking Heights school district and the library district partners with the schools for teacher collections, special literacy night activities and other services.

"We have started to look at other ways we may be able to serve the area and have had a few conversations with school administrators and other business leaders," Wofter said. "We have such a wealth of digital services such as free downloadable e-books, streaming video, authoritative research information available online through databases that we are trying to get folks aware of so they can simply use their library card and visit our website 24-7 at their convenience."

Wofter emphasized the levy would be a renewal. The existing levy expires 2015 and the renewal is a continuing levy designed to maintain the district's existing services, she said.

If approved, the levy would generate $2.4 million and cost homeowners $30.60 per year, per $100,000 of assessed property valuation.

Gloria Carson, director of the Licking County Board of Elections, said 6,300 voters are registered in the Licking Heights district's Licking County region. The remainder of the district is in Franklin County.

Carson said only Licking County residents living in the Newark, Heath and Lakewood school districts and those living in the Licking County portions of the Johnstown-Monroe, Licking Heights, North Fork, Northern, River View and West Muskingum school districts would vote on the levy.